


Take More Chances, Dance More Dances

by mmmmmbred



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Anxiety, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, Non-Explicit Sex, Self-Worth Issues, Slow Burn, as in theyre teenagers they say nasty shit, bad parenting bc shadow weaver is a rat, like reeeally slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2020-08-23 04:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20236972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmmmbred/pseuds/mmmmmbred
Summary: When Adora left Horde Studios for Bright Moon Dance Company, her life got better. She found friends, a home, loving parents, and a passion for dance stronger than ever. At the cost of never speaking to her best friend again.Catra has never known anything but dance, and can't stand her foster mother, siblings, or the studio where they all train. Her best friend managed to get everything they wanted and left her to pick up the broken pieces she left on the dance floor.After years of repressed feelings and ruthless competition, they're certain they'll never see each other again.What a coincidence then, that they're at the same competition for the first time in six years.Competitive Dance AU with a lot of repressed feelings? You betcha!





	1. Chapter 1

“5, 6, and 7, and 8, and, good.”

Arms gracefully raised and lowered with the swelling of the music. Heads whipped around, legs kicking into the air.

“Get that back leg higher, Mermista! Shoulders down, land softer!”

Pointed toes shot up, spinning elegantly. Limbs swept the floor, faces turning with ease towards a would be audience, when they swiftly rolled to the floor. One girl stood as the others gently raised arms in her direction, collapsing to the floor. She quickly turned and walked away from the others.

“Gorgeous, Adora. And leap, land soft, lean, turn, arm. Slowly, hold. Beautiful.”

The music at last faded out with Angella’s demanding voice. Heavy breathing and groans could finally be heard above the song.

“My everything hurts.”

“Why can’t I turn today?”

“You think you can’t turn? Girl, let me tell you about-”

“Alright!” Angella’s voice echoed above the complaining girls on the floor. “One more time, from the beginning!”

If the groans were loud before, they were ear splitting at the latest announcement. 

“Adoooora.”

Adora snorted, walking over to where Glimmer lay sprawled across the floor. She waved an arm in Adora’s direction.

“What do you want?” She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow and smiling at her friend.

“I am dying. Literally. I need you to write my last will and testament.” She threw an arm over her eyes. “The light. It’s blinding. Tell my mother, she killed me with this group dance.”

Adora rolled her eyes goodnaturedly. “Okay, sure sounds good. Can you die after we do this next runthrough?”

“Nooooooo.” Glimmer rolled across the floor, smacking straight into Netossa’s leg. “Why does no one on this earth understand my untimely death?”

Netossa and Spinerella both laughed at her antics. Netossa gave Glimmer a gentle kick. “You’re such a drama queen.”

Glimmer gasped as dramatically as possible. “I’ve literally never been dramatic in my entire life ever.” She looked longingly at Adora with wide eyes. “Adora, help my reputation is being tarnished as we speak.”

Adora strolled back to her starting position center stage. “Glimmer, dear, I think you’ll live.”

Glimmer sighed and pulled herself up to standing. “I just said I wouldn’t, but whatever. See how you like it dancing without me.”

Adora opened her mouth to retort, but Angella cut her off. “Ladies, let’s get started!” The girls shuffled quickly to their off stage starting positions, tightening ponytails and shifting their feet. Adora sat, curling her knees in, waiting for the music to start. 

The piano began, and Adora lost herself to the movements. She swept an arm in front of her, then kicked her leg in the air. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the music, letting it shape her dancing. After having been raised for years to focus on counts and techniques and mechanical perfection, it was a breath of fresh air to be at Bright Moon Dance Company. She felt the rhythm flow through her body, taking control as she joined the rest of the group, then stepping forward to spin with her leg straight in the air. She couldn’t help but smile; leg hold turns would likely always be her favorite. The music moved her as she leapt and delicately moved across the floor. She could hear Angella calling corrections, but it felt like she was a million miles away. Her heart was beating with the song, feeling the energy move her. The girls came together, turning like synchronized clocks. She felt every movement, every word, connecting with each girl and each beat like it was keeping her alive. She came center, letting the penche roll through her body. She felt powerful, beautiful, emotional.

The beat swelled, the group jumping into a calypso, landing, and turning again. They reached their arms with the lyrics, rolling over their toes to the floor. Adora could feel the chills as she stood from the rest, turning low to the ground, and walking off with a meaningful look over her shoulder. 

The music faded, the trance fell away. Her teammates were laying on the floor, slowly pushing themselves up to sitting as Angella approached the group.

“Corrections.” She announced. Adora scurried over to sit next to Glimmer, bumping her with her shoulder. Angella stood tall, authoritatively looking over the group. “Mermista, again, get your back leg higher in your calypso, I know you can. Netossa, you were behind leading into the group turn section. Perfuma, your arms need to be stronger overall. Glimmer, every time you roll to the floor, you look like you have no control. Come down softer, roll over your toes, don’t use your heels. Spinerella, your turns are off time with everyone else. The first was too slow, the second too fast. Adora, your face did not match the song at all. It’s about a breakup, stop smiling so much.”

“Can you feel the love tonight?” Glimmer muttered with a frown.

Adora snorted. Angella looked her way, and she quickly turned it into coughing. Their teacher looked skeptically back to the rest of the group. She began pacing purposefully.

“As my senior team, I expect nothing less than the best. You all have been training for years, and should be able to flawlessly perform anything I choreograph.”

A long pause followed. The girls exchanged glances, praying they wouldn’t have to go again to fix their mistakes.

“You’ve done very well today, and I am certain I will see such quality in the future. You are all dismissed for the evening. Thank you.”

A chorus of “thank yous” returned as the girls pushed themselves off the floor, rubbing aching muscles and gathering water bottles.

“Oh, reminder for Adora, Glimmer, and Perfuma, you have solo rehearsals scheduled this weekend. Please show up early and get warmed up before your lesson so we can jump right in.”

They shouted back confirmations as the team shuffled into the lobby. As soon as they left the studio, gossip erupted.

“So, Mermista,” Glimmer started. “What’s the deal with you and Seahawk? I heard you have a duet this year.” She singsonged. Netossa and Adora let out “oohs,” Perfuma and Spinerella cooed, and Mermista shoved Glimmer’s shoulder.

“Oh, shut up. Nothing’s official until we meet Friday with the boys.” She said, pulling on her bright blue joggers.

“Pssh, official oschmicial.” Glimmer rolled her eyes, switching out shorts for leggings over her leotard. “Everyone knows who's doing what waaaay before the meeting.”

“She has a point.” Spinerella said, flicking a hair tie at Netossa as she bent over to put her shoes away. “Me and Netossa are doing a duet, Perfuma, Glimmer, and Adora are for sure doing a trio, Bow’s probably doing a tap number, and if not tap, the song is definitely gonna be from a musical.” She cut herself off with a giggle, ducking the return fire from Netossa.

“Whatever. I don’t care who I dance with this year.” Mermista stood up, shouldering her duffel bag.

“Ah-ha!” Glimmer, jumped up triumphantly. “You know you’re dancing with someone!”

“Aw, look, she’s blushing!” Netossa called. 

“C’mon guys.” Adora said. “We all look like tomatoes. We did just get out of a boiling hot studio. But,” She slung an arm around Mermista’s shoulders. “If you’re feeling hot and bothered, I bet Seahawk could give you a hand.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and the rest of the girls whooped and hollered. 

Mermista shoved Adora away playfully, her face now bright red. “You guys suck. Later, assholes.” She turned around, flipping them off as she left the studio. The girls laughed, calling out lewd jokes and remarks as she left.

Netossa was the one to break up the laughter. “So Perfuma, you’ve been looking at your phone all night.” The blonde girl’s head shot up, looking caught in the act. “What’s the deal? Special someone?”

She ducked her head, turning giggly and fidgety. “Okay, I’m going to tell you guys, but no judgement.”

“This oughta be good,” Glimmer said, sliding in close to Perfuma. 

“So, I’ve been talking to this girl…” 

“Ooooo.” Spinerella clapped her hands excitedly.

“Yes, Perfuma, get it!” Adora shouted happily.

“But, she dances at Horde Studios.”

Glimmer whistled lowly.

“Oh, damn.” Netossa said.

“Modern day Romeo and Juliet.” Spinerella said, shaking her head.

Adora was silent, face blanched. Chattering continued in the background but she was lost in her own world. _Horde Studios._ Just the name brought back hours spent perfecting her toes, her lines, elbows, facials. Every detail mattered, more than if her muscles were on the verge of giving out and she couldn’t breathe. Time she spent crying in the bathroom, drying her and her friends tears. Well, just one friend in particular.

“Adora?”

Her head snapped up. “Huh?”

“Uh, Mission Control to Space Cadet Adora? Perfuma asked you a question.” Glimmer said, looking at her quizzically.

“Sorry, yeah, what’s up?” She shook her head, clearing the cobwebs.

“I said, didn’t you used to dance at Horde?”

Adora swallowed the anxiety, shrugging as casually as she could. “Yeah, when I was a kid. It was…fine.”

A quick glance around the room told her not a single girl believed her, Glimmer least of all. She stood up suddenly, fishing her keys out of her bag. 

“Sorry, I have to go. Math test tomorrow.” She shoved her boots on. “Glimmer, you need a ride?”

“Uh, sure, yeah.” She said slowly, tossing the last of her things in her bag. “Thanks.”

Adora gave her a forced smile. “See you guys Friday!” She turned and left, leaving Glimmer running to keep up.

Several shouts of goodbye followed the two teens out the door. Adora power walked to her car, trying to avoid the inevitable conversation that she had been dodging for four years.

“Adora, wait up!” Adora did no such thing, using her longer legs to her advantage.

She silently unlocked the car, sliding inside and throwing her bag in the backseat. Glimmer climbed inside a few seconds later, slightly out of breath from her run to the car. Adora faced forwards, gripping the wheel and refusing eye contact.

Glimmer gave her a bewildered look. “What is your deal? I know you don’t have a math test tomorrow. You stormed out for, like, no reason.”

Adora clenched her jaw. “I have a reason, I just don’t want to talk about it.”

Glimmer held her hands up in defense. “O-kay.”

They fell into silence. Adora finally jammed the key in the ignition, turning the car on. She grabbed the wheel again, but didn’t shift the car into motion. Glimmer bit her lip.

“Listen, I know you danced at Horde for, like, since you were a baby. And I’m super happy you switched to Brightmoon, but you never really talk about why you left. I mean, obviously moving in with the Greyskulls, but Horde isn’t that far away, you totally could have stayed.”

Adora stayed silent. Glimmer leaned forward, trying to look at her face. “If something happened, you can tell me.” She gave a quick glance to Glimmer. Her eyebrows were drawn in, a small frown on her face. Adora hadn’t known Glimmer for a lifetime, but she knew she would end up telling her eventually.

After a painfully long silence, Adora turned off the car and let out a deep huff.

“My foster mom owns the studio, okay?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Glimmer was chewing so hard on her lip, Adora was about to tell her to stop before she started bleeding. The former was the first to break the silence.

“I’m sorry.”

Adora scoffed. “Don’t apologize. You don’t have anything to do with her.” Her knuckles were turning white. 

Glimmer shrugged and sat forward. “Well, I brought it up.” She rolled her head to look at Adora. “So, I’m sorry for that.”

“Thanks.”

Stillness descended on the car again. Adora turned on the car again, shifting into reverse.

“You can pick the music.” She said to Glimmer, nodding at the aux cord.

“Cool.” She plugged in her phone, scrolling through her songs absently. After a few seconds of weird silence, Adora started the conversation again.

“How did you know I was lying about the math test?”

Glimmer sighed and looked up from her phone. “Adora, I love you, but you have an IQ of like, seven. We’ve been in the same math class since eighth grade.”

“Oh shit, you right.”

“Mmhm.” At that moment, Glimmer smiled and picked a song.

“Whatcha playin’?” Adora asked, trying to look at Glimmer’s phone. She quickly pulled it away from Adora’s sight.

“Don’t worry about it.” She said, trying to hide a shit-eating grin. The beat and heavy guitar suddenly kicked in and Glimmer was actively fighting back laughter.

“What song is this? Oh my god, no-”

“How ba-a-a-ad can I be?” Glimmer started singing along as loud as physically possible, cranking the volume all the way up. “I’m just doin’ what comes naturally.” Adora came to a stoplight and promptly smashed her head on the wheel, groaning over the sounds of Glimmer’s hysterical laughter. “How ba-a-a-ad can I be? How bad can I possibly be?”

“Bury me in a shallow grave. I’ll be back.”

Glimmer laughed even harder at that. Adora looked at her from the wheel, giving her a sardonic smile. “You think you’re so goddamn funny, don’t you?”

“My Netflix comedy special comes out December 15th.” She replied, wiping imaginary tears away. 

Adora rolled her eyes and sat up. Glimmer tapped through her phone. “Okay, now for some actual bops.”

There’s nothing more beautiful than two teenage girls screaming along to the Mulan soundtrack.

*****

“Your legs are sloppy and your arms are stiff. Again.”

Catra huffed and repeated the eight count. A chasse, grand jete, kick with arms, step and sweep. Easy. 

“Catra! It’s one, two, jump on three! I don’t recall you being brain damaged, why can’t you count?”

Catra frowned, breathing heavily at the mirror. “It’s nine o’clock, and I’ve been dancing for nearly five hours. I’m doing my best.”

She turned, crossing her arms and staring down her dance teacher. Weaver stalked over, eyes narrowed. 

“You disrespectful, ungrateful brat.”

Catra scoffed. “What do I have to be grateful for?” She waved her arms in a sarcastic dance. “Whoop de doo, you feed me, clothe me, and get me to public education. Ladies and gentlemen,” she gestured around the room to her teammates, “let’s get a round of applause for Weaver, for doing the absolute bare minimum!”

She cheered bitterly, clapping slowly in Weaver’s face.

“Hey Weaver,” Lonnie called from the floor. She had her head lolled against one hand, and looked thoroughly irritated. “Can the rest of us not be punished for Catra being the worst?”

The girls exchanged hostile glares. Weaver leaned into Catra’s face. 

“I thought I had set a precedent for this kind of behavior, Catra. You have been entitled, disgraceful, and inattentive for far too long. I will not let you drag down this team and ruin all the work I’ve put into making you all distinguished dancers. You are lucky I allow you to be here despite this discrepancies.” She grabbed underneath Catra’s chin, forcing her to meet her eye. “She may be gone, but do not forget why you are here.”

She dropped her chin, straightening up and clasping her hands behind her back. Catra looked down. “Sorry, Weaver. I’ll do better.”

“Good.” 

She gave a discerning eye over the rest of the team. They were seated against the mirror, all covered in sweat stains. 

“You’ve done...acceptably today. Some of you,” Catra felt her harsh gaze. She shifted uncomfortably. “Need to learn some technique and respect.”

God, Catra hated this. She knew her team was looking between her and Weaver, waiting for the group punishment because of her stupid choices. She hated living in the shadow of someone who wasn’t even here.

“Thirty crunches before you leave. That is all.” She waved her hand. “Dismissed.”

They all exchanged hesitant looks. Not waiting for additional conditioning, they all slid to the floor as fast as possible, going through their reps and hustling quietly out the door. 

Scorpia immediately ran up to Catra, swinging an arm around her neck. “Crazy rehearsal today, huh?”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it.”

“I’ll say.” said Lonnie, exiting the studio. “I’d like to leave rehearsal before nine for once in my life. We’re supposed to-”

“End at eight thirty, I know.” Catra crouched, peeling off her lyrical shoes. “Spare me the lecture.”

Lonnie scoffed. “It wouldn’t kill you to not be a bitch.”

Catra threw her shoes in her bag and stood up. “It wouldn’t kill her to not be a bitch. Don’t act like you actually like her or something.”

“It doesn’t matter what I think of her. It’s easier to keep your head down and not get your ass kicked.” 

“Suck a fat one.” Catra turned, pulling on sweatpants and letting her wild hair out of the tight bun. She flipped her head over and ran her fingers over her aching scalp. There was another thing she hated; stupid studio dress codes.

She didn’t hear Lonnie leave and she didn’t care to check. Scorpia slid onto the floor next to her, whistling lowly. “Geez. That was intense.”

Catra opened her mouth to respond when Entrapta bounced over. “Guys, I finished making my mix for my solo!”

“That’s awesome, Entrapta!” Scorpia pulled her into a tight hug. “You’re probably the best DJ ever.”

“And!” She pointed into the air. “I was voted president of Robotics Club at school!”

Catra smiled at Entrapta. “That’s really cool. And as a junior.” 

Entrapta beamed, pulling out her phone. "I'm thinking of focusing on improving my tutting this year, I saw a video of this girl doing it and she was off the charts good!" She shoved the video in their faces. "Check it out!"

"Wooaah, Entrapta, that's insane." Scorpia leaned over the video, pointing out her favorite parts to her. Catra tuned them out, thinking about her solo for this year. She'd probably get saddled with some sad lyrical bullshit again. She scoffed, shaking her head. She was so much better than all that crap, but Weaver never let her do something where she could actually win.

"Everything all right, Catra?" Scorpia asked. 

"Yeah, it's whatever." She responded.

Scorpia bit her lip. "Well, I think you looked awesome today. Your leaps were so high, and I would kill to be as flexible as you!" She placed a hand on Catra's shoulder. "If you perform like that this year, you'll be a shoo-in for the Joffrey Intensive!"

Catra snorted. "Thinking far ahead, aren't we?"

"Well, yeah." She let her hand fall. "I know how much you want it, so."

Catra gave her a weak smile. "Thanks, Scorpia, really, but let's leave that for later. Good luck with your stuff, Entrapta. I gotta go." She pulled out her water bottle and stood up. 

Scorpia tilted her head. “Leaving so soon?”

“Unfortunately, we gave grandpa Rogelio the keys,” she rolled her eyes pointedly at the tall teen, “and he likes to be asleep by 9:30, so.”

Rogelio walked over with his bag on his shoulder. “I like to get a reasonable amount of sleep.”

“I like to see my friends.” Catra put a hand on her hip. “We all suffer.”

“Catra, we are your friends!” Kyle said perkily, sliding up next to Rogelio. 

Catra squinted at him. “We,” she gestured between herself and the boys, “are foster siblings. Calling us friends is like claiming you can sleep in the sewers because it’s public property and you’re the public. Factually untrue and no one chose to be in that situation.” 

“That’s gotta be the most ridiculous comparison I’ve ever heard.” Lonnie said, walking up to the rest of the group. She pulled her hair into a ponytail. “But unfortunately, Catra’s right. We ain’t friends, Kyle.”

Kyle let out a disappointed noise which everyone pretty much ignored. Rogelio gave him a side hug. 

“So, we leaving or what?” Lonnie asked.

Catra rolled her eyes and started walking out. “See you at school, ladies.” She called, blowing a kiss to Scorpia and Entrapta over her shoulder. “Shotgun!” She shouted to her foster siblings, before sprinting out the door. Lonnie followed on her heels, shouting that it wasn’t fair. Kyle and Rogelio weren’t far behind.

After piling into the car and arguing about music, the teens fell into a familiar lull. Catra had agreed to let Lonnie choose the music, in exchange for sitting in the front, feet on the dashboard. Rogelio had long given up trying to smack her feet down, and Kyle hadn’t argued as he climbed into the back. He talked to Rogelio about his classes, while Catra and Lonnie mindlessly scrolled through their phones. Suddenly, Lonnie piped up from the back seat.

“Hey Catra, have you seen the list of studios for our first competition?”

“No? Why?” She looked over her shoulder. “We compete against the same like 15 studios for the first half of the year anyway.”

“Yeah, but, Weaver chose a weird schedule this year, and we’re doing a bunch of extra competitions and switching the weekends of our normal ones.” She leaned forwards, passing her phone to Catra. “Check it.”

Catra scrolled through the list. Mostly nothing new. Some studios they normally didn’t see until a little later in the year, some she’d never heard of. Then her stomach plummeted.

_Brightmoon Studios._

“Well, fuck me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeehaw hope yall are ready for some Dramatic Dancers. more to come
> 
> also fair warning im not a competitive dancer so im doing my best but genuinely let me know if i messed smth up


	2. Chapter 2

Glimmer strolled up to their lunch table, ten minutes late as usual.

“What’s up, gamers!” She called, tossing her backpack under the table and plopping onto a chair.

“Hi Glimmer!” Bow responded excitedly.

Adora scrunched her eyebrows and smiled. “I feel like I’m never going to understand your slang.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes, pulling out a bright lavender lunchbox. “Probably true. You were born at age forty five so it does make it difficult to understand the youth.” She glanced over at Adora briefly. “I like your outfit. Very 80s.”

Bow nudged Adora with his shoulder. “More proof she was born at forty five. She probably got those mom jeans first hand.”

“Plus that red letterman? Did you win the state championship in 1984, the last time our school was good at football?” Glimmer grinned.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Adora rolled her eyes.

“Highkey though, Adora,” Bow said, halfway through a sandwich, “I love this look.”

“Also highkey,” Glimmer added, “You couldn’t look gayer if you tried.”

“Glimmer, you’re like the poster child for a lipstick lesbian, don’t even.” Adora retorted, throwing a hot cheeto at her head.

Glimmer threw the cheeto back. Adora dodged and it disappeared over her shoulder, far off in the cafeteria. The three laughed as it flew, eventually landing a few tables over.

“Ugh, thank god it’s Friday, though.” Glimmer announced. “I spent all of Bio wanting to walk into the ocean and never return.” She flopped her head on the table.

Bow made a noise of agreement. “Mood.” Adora responded. “Monahan had us run for 30 minutes straight and I still didn’t get a ten out of ten for the day. How is my lowest grade in P.E.?”

“I’m more excited it’s Friday ‘cause we have dance tonight!” Bow cheered. 

“Bow, I love you and your excitement,” Glimmer said, propping her chin on the edge of the table. “But we do have dance pretty much every day of the week.”

“Well, yeah,” He rolled his eyes, “But we get to find out our official dances for this season and everyone’s gonna be there together!” He wrapped his arms around both girls. “Princesses united!”

Adora shook her head. “I’m rejecting that name.” She was smiling anyways. 

Glimmer reached around Bow to fluff her ponytail. “Too late, babe. Princesses united!” She cupped a hand around her mouth to shout.

Adora licked her finger and stuck it in Bow’s ear, prompting him to release her and shriek at decibels only audible to dogs. They continued play fighting until Glimmer interrupted them.

“Speaking of dance,” She pulled out her phone, “my mom forwarded me a list of the dance studios for our first competition.”

Adora immediately stood up and moved to Glimmer’s other side, and they both leaned in to look at her phone.

“Oooo, show me, show me, show me.” Bow said, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“Give me like five seconds, damn.” She pushed an elbow into his stomach.

“Hurry up, Glim.” Adora said, bouncing her leg impatiently.

She huffed, tapped her screen a few times, then put her phone on the table and leaned back. “There you go, leeches.”

Adora and Bow leaned forwards. “Wait, why are we going to Starpower? We never really start there.” Adora asked.

“I dunno. Mom said she was trying a new schedule for us this year. I think we’re doing more comps earlier so we can audition for more summer intensives later.” She groaned, running her fingers through her hair. “Kill me now.”

“There are plenty of non-ballet summer intensives.” Adora said.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“No, ‘I guess,’ do like, a hip-hop or contemporary one. The videos you send us always look so dope. Or better yet,” Adora tapped her shoulder, “do an acro intensive or tumbling camp, you love that stuff.”

Glimmer sighed. “I mean, I could.” She crossed her arms, gaze cast down. “But my mom was, like, a principal dancer.”

“You know she doesn’t care if you’re a ballet dancer.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, but still…”

“Seriously, Glim.” Bow said, eyes shining sincerely. “You’re an amazing dancer, ballet or not.”

Glimmer closed her eyes. “Thanks, but can we focus on the competition right now. Please?”

The other two nodded, exchanged a worried look, and turned back to the phone. They scrolled through, occasionally commenting on the studios, dancers, shooting the breeze. Suddenly, Adora grabbed the phone, zooming in.

“Oh, fuck no.” She tossed it on the table and started knocking her head on the edge.

“What?” Glimmer grabbed her phone, as Bow rushed over and tried to stop Adora’s self destruction. She read the screen. _Horde Dance Company._ “Oh shit.”

“Noooo, I can’t do this.” Adora moaned, still looking at the ground despite having been forced to stop hitting her head. “It will be terrible and awkward and I’m not going.”

Bow leaned over, discreetly reading the screen, making a knowing O with his mouth and rubbing Adora’s back.

“What’s the worst that can happen?” He asked gently.

“I could see her.”

“Jesus, the bar is low.” Glimmer responded.

Bow gave her a look behind Adora’s back. “Come on now, Adora, it won’t be so bad. We don’t have to talk to anyone we don’t want to and these comps are big enough to avoid one little studio.”

He gave Glimmer another look that screamed, _If you mention Perfuma’s girlfriend right now, I’ll kill you._

Glimmer rolled her eyes back, _No shit, I’m not an idiot._

She leaned her head on Adora’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, it’s just this one comp. And even if we do see them again, we never have to talk to them.”

Adora groaned loudly into the table. “I hate everything.”

Bow hummed, rubbing her shoulder gently. 

“God, what am I gonna do?” She ran her hands anxiously over her ponytail, giving it a tug. “How can I compete if I know she’s watching me?”

“Weaver doesn’t have any power over you.” Glimmer said, hugging Adora’s arm. “You’re an amazing dancer.”

“Better without her.” Bow agreed.

“What?” Adora’s eyebrows scrunched, head popping up from the table. “No, Weaver’s a dick, but I’m worried about Catra.”

Glimmer raised her head, giving Bow a lost look behind Adora’s head. “Who’s Catra?” Glimmer asked slowly.

“Just,” She paused, swallowing. How could she possibly explain the hell she’d suffered with Catra? How do you explain that your best friend and first crush and a total stranger were all the same? “Someone I knew from Horde. We were friends.” She slumped down onto her arms. 

“Okay. Well, listen.” Bow leaned forward onto his elbow to look at Adora. “We don’t start competing for like a month, so this is a problem for future Adora.”

“But present Adora has to become good enough to beat Catra, and anyone else from the Horde.” She groaned, looking mournfully at Glimmer and Bow.

Glimmer ‘hmmed’, leaning down to hug her arm again. “Then, let’s worry about getting to class tonight, and working our asses off during privates tomorrow.”

“You’re the hardest worker I’ve ever met, and you’re going to make sure future Adora has nothing to be afraid of, okay?” Bow’s eyes were filled with warmth and confidence, and as she looked to Glimmer, she saw brightness and love. She sighed.

“Okay.”

“Feeling better?” Glimmer said, rubbing her thumbs over Adora’s forearm.

“Mmhm.”

“Good.” Glimmer leaned back, putting her hands together over her chest. “Then let me cheer you up with the tale of how Evan Rowell almost caught these hands during English.”

“Oh ho ho, this oughta be good.”

*****

Catra had spent all of Thursday wishing the Earth would swallow her whole. She’d managed to brush of any questions for the rest of the evening, but by Thursday morning, Scorpia was already asking about Brightmoon.

“I don’t really get it. They’re literally across town from us, but we’ve never seen them at competitions until this year. Crazy, right Catra?” Scorpia bumped her shoulder as they walked to history.

“Yup. Wild.” Unfortunately for her, they also sat next to each other in history. Catra sighed. This was going to be a long class.

“...And Lonnie was telling me in Spanish that one of your old teammates now goes to Brightmoon! It’d be so fun to see her again, right?” Scorpia threw an arm around Catra’s tense shoulders, either not noticing or ignoring her side eyed glares. “We could all be friends!” She gasped. “Maybe we could even be sister teams.”

At that, Catra’s jaw tightened and she shoved Scorpia off, weaving deftly through the crowds ahead. She could hear Scorpia excusing herself as she tried to catch up. And as much as they tried to disguise it, she could also hear Ivy Blume and Becca Gottfried talking from their lockers.

“Yeah, no, she’s such a bitch. We were in the same pre-calc class and one time she snapped at me because I was asking the kid next to me a question and it was distracting her.” Becca said, rolling her eyes. “You’re totally fine to be annoyed. She’s a bum ass partner.”

“Seriously,” Ivy replied. “She’s like a dropout waiting to happen.”

Catra closed her eyes and tried to breathe. Last period, her and Ivy had been made partners for their Bio project. She hadn’t even _done_ anything yet, how could Ivy already hate her? She didn’t even remember Becca being in her pre-calc class. 

_Whatever._ She thought, hunching her shoulders. _Fuck Ivy Blume anyway. If I’m a dropout, she’s the next star of Teen Moms._

“Hey Catra! I lost you there for a bit.”

Scorpia bounded up to her and she looked over at Ivy and Becca. They were staring at her. Ivy muttered something to Becca and closed her locker. They walked away, still sneaking glances at her. Catra was going to kill someone. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Scorpia asked, following Catra’s gaze. When she saw the girls, she made a low ‘oh’ sound.

Catra was frozen, still reeling. She wanted to skip class, she wanted to sink into the floor, she wanted to take the car and drive away and never come back, she wanted to cry, to scream, to feel something other than helpless. 

“Hey, hey, Catra.” Scorpia said, gently pulling her to the side. “Forget them, they’re not worth it. Whatever they said, it’s not true. I know you’re great-”

Catra brushed her hand off her shoulder. “Thanks, Scorpia, but don’t worry about that. I don’t give a shit about Becca and Ivy, they’re assholes.” She crossed her arms, turning to keep walking to class. Scorpia sighed and jogged up to her.

“Well, something’s up.” Catra stayed silent, staring ahead. Scorpia sighed, moving to block her path. “Seriously. Talk to me. Did I do something?”

Catra snorted. “No, you didn’t do anything. You’re like the nicest person in the world.” She dodged to the side and kept walking. 

Scorpia turned and walked with her. “Is this about Brightmoon? I thought you’d be excited.”

Catra finally stopped, glaring at Scorpia. “My ex best friend abandoned me in sixth grade to go join that stupid studio, and we haven’t spoken since. Happy?” She gave her a flat smile and strode off as fast as she could.

“Catra, wait!” Catra pointedly ignored her, racing to history. They sat in silence for the entire class, and by lunch, she made it clear that the subject was not to be broached again.

That was yesterday, and after a shouting match that got them all in trouble, the Weaver siblings agreed not to discuss Brightmoon and She-who-must-not-be-named (“Kyle, don’t bring your nerd shit into this.” “Shut the hell up, Lonnie, Harry Potter is art.” “Thanks, Catra.” “No one asked, Kyle.”) any further.

Now, it was blessedly Friday, and in Catra’s opinion, Fridays were the single greatest day of the week. Last year, Tuesdays were the single greatest day of the week. It really depended on whatever day her contemporary class fell on. It was the one class where she didn’t have to wear a bun, or a leotard, or pointe shoes. Just her, the floor, and the music. 

She all but ran to the car after school, bouncing impatiently on her toes waiting for the others to arrive. They always took their sweet time getting here whenever she wanted to be somewhere. _Assholes,_ She grumbled. First Lonnie showed, then Rogelio, trudging with the rest of the crowd. Catra wanted to strangle them. When she spotted Kyle finally ambling across the lot, she scowled. “Hurry the fuck up, I have places to be!” His head snapped up and he scurried as fast as he could. 

On Fridays, she didn’t drag her feet trekking to the studio, practically kicking her siblings out when they arrived at the house so she could speed to class. She could barely pay attention all day, lost in dreams of beautiful extensions and elegant arms. 

For once, she felt free at the Horde. The heavy weight of Weaver’s inescapable disappointment lifted when she stepped into the studio, seeing none of her foster siblings and a guest instructor plugging her phone into the speaker. Today, she was just another girl taking class, not the failure of Horde Studios senior team.

“Alright, y’all, my name is Hayley, I’m your instructor for today.” She was a young blonde, already bouncing around the room smiling at everyone. “I’ve been dancing for just about twenty years now, and my main focus tends to be contortion, so the sequence I have for y’all today lends itself to flexibility, but don’t worry,” She winked, “it’s not a requirement, it’s more about being exact with your counts, understanding when to hit exact movements and when to flow through them.” She landed front and center with her hands on her hips.

“Y’all excited?”

With a chorus of cheers, she grabbed the little remote and pressed play. “Then let’s get stretching!”

The class flew by in a blur. They ran through stretches, new ones Catra had never tried, and began the sequence. If her solo was anything like this choreo, then Catra was certain she could grind Brightmoon to a pulp. 

She decided not to talk about it anymore with anyone. No one had to know her weakness, how afraid she was to see Adora, to see how good she had become. _No, I’m not afraid._ She told herself. _I’m actually committed to a studio. I’m good, better than her. I’m just not used to seeing her, that’s all._

“Still looking for one more volunteer to perform with the first group!”

Catra huffed, shaking off her thoughts. She raised her hand, hopping into line with the other students. Hayley smiled brightly. “Thank you! Let’s get it going!”

The music started and everything else disappeared. She rose from a crouch, reaching her arms out for something, grasped at her chest and at nothing at all. Delicately, she raised her leg next to her ear, lifting her arm to roll herself back into a lunge. After two quick turns, she slid to the floor, kicking her leg straight back over her head. She crumpled into a ball, then swiftly came to a knee, throwing her head back with the music. She moved to standing as smoothly as possible, then threw herself into a layout with the beat of the piano. She pumped her chest with the bass, spinning to her hands and knees, kicking back until she saw her foot next to her face.

She moved through each turn with control and attitude, allowing a smile to slip onto her face. All at once, she remembered why she loved to dance. It made her feel significant. She could forget every nasty thing she her whispered behind her back at school, every cruel criticism Weaver said, every hateful word the voice in her head shouted nonstop, reminding her every way she was inadequate. But when she danced, she was beautiful. She wasn’t weighed down by collection of unfulfilled expectations, she was light and airy. She was expressive and interesting and more than. 

Catra tried to savor every moment of the dance, but it flew by all too quickly. She could always tell when a dance or a sequence or even an eight count would be something to hold on to, something to hide in when her home made her feel worthless. Repeating steps and turns alone in her room, she felt like she was made of gold. 

At the end of the hour, Hayley told them they were finished for the evening. “But, no sad faces! I’m gonna be back in two weeks, we’ll keep the party going! Great work y’all!”

Catra couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she went to grab her water bottle, already committing the sequence to memory. She was walking out slowly, savoring the last moments, when she heard a perky voice call to her from the speaker.

“Hey, Catra, right?” Hayley called, fiddling with her phone.

“Uh,” Catra paused, “yeah.”

“You were a standout today, seriously. You’re crazy flexible, I would love to see one of your performances at some point.” She smiled brightly.

“Yeah, um, thanks. I’m on the senior team, so.” Catra bit her lip, shifting awkwardly.

“Dope! Hopefully I’ll see you around!” Hayley waved and Catra offered some weird half hand raise in reply.

She dragged her feet leaving the studio. It was always torture going home on Fridays, knowing she’d be criticized for God knows what the second she walked in the door. She tried to hold on to all the kind things Hayley said as she drove home and unlocked the front door.

“Finally!” Lonnie called from upstairs. Catra rolled her eyes, toeing off her gym shoes.

“Finally what?” Rogelio replied from the front room.

“Huh?” She yelled, running down the stairs.

“I said, finally what?” He walked in the entrance way.

Lonnie gestured at her, pulling on a jacket. “Catra’s home. I need the car.”

Rogelio rolled his eyes. “I can see that. Why were you saying finally about?”

Catra gave them a flat stare. “It’s like watching a teapot talk to chalk.” 

Lonnie screwed up her face and Rogelio opened his mouth to reply when Kyle came running in.

“Zella said it was my turn to take the car.” He pouted.

Catra squinted at him. “Since when has she decided who gets the car?” She snorted, tossing the keys to Lonnie.

Rogelio snatched them out of the air. “Don’t be obnoxious, Kyle has a right to the car.” He said, cutting off Lonnie’s protest.

Catra crossed her arms, jutting her hip out. “Please, like Kyle’s doing anything important. If Lonnie wants to be a whore, who are we to stop her?”

“Hey!” Lonnie shoved Catra, but as always, she caught her balance too quickly for it to be satisfying.

“What? Like you aren’t going to a dick appointment right now?” She raised an eyebrow. “No judgment, but don’t be lying to us right now.”

“No, I’m not!”

Kyle piped up. “I heard you talking to Marcel Naylor today, he was bragging to the rest of the lacrosse team about you coming over.”

Silence descended over the hall as they stared at Kyle.

“So, can I have the keys?” He asked.

Instantly, the house erupted in shouts and insults. Catra was on the verge of scratching Rogelio, who was yelling at Lonnie, who was holding Kyle by the collar, who was trying to grab the keys away from whoever had them now. At the exact moment Catra lifted her hand to smack someone, Weaver stormed into the hall.

“Children!” She shrieked and everything came to a screeching halt. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, her face was covered in green sludge, and she was wearing a bathrobe. All in all, Zella Weaver looked like the witch every child was afraid of.

Weaver sneered, and Catra threw up her mental armor. “Why am I not surprised that your arrival disturbed my rest?”

Catra gritted her teeth, lowering her arm. “It’s like five in the afternoon, and you don’t do anything. What could you possibly be resting from?” She hunched her shoulders, glaring at the ground.

“When and what I do is not open to your criticism.” Weaver snarled. “You’re lucky I allow you to live here when you speak to me with such disrespect.” She scowled at the other teens. They all tried to look anywhere but at her face. “All of you are lucky I tolerate your behavior. Give me the keys.”

She raised a hand to silence any arising protests. “Since you all cannot be trusted not to raise a ruckus over a car, none of you will be using it tonight.”

“But I have to go to work! My shift starts in fifteen minutes.” Kyle said pathetically, as Rogelio grudgingly dropped the keys in Weaver’s hand.

“Well, you should have thought of that before letting Catra pick a fight.” She leered at the girl. “I hope your little contemporary class was worth it. We’ll know for certain once competitions begin.” She turned, robe sweeping behind her as she glided to the back. “I’m waiting with bated breath.”

Catra clenched her fists, staring at the ground as hot tears threatened to well up. So much for the best day of the week. When she was certain she wasn’t going to cry, she looked up at the rest of them. There was practically steam coming out of Lonnie’s ears.

“I’m going to spit in all of your food.” She hissed.

“I’m going to steal your pillows.” Rogelio growled in reply.

“I’m going to cut the sleeves off all your shirts.” Catra looked pointedly at each of them.

“I’m going to eat the car keys.”

“You’re a weapons grade freak, Kyle.” Catra said, digging in her backpack. “Here.” She plopped a set of keys in Kyle’s hand. 

“Since when-” 

“Please, I stole the extra set the second I turned sixteen.” She jerked her chin to the door. “Get out of here, Zella’s probably already dreaming up new ways to torture us.”

Kyle scampered out the door. Lonnie was staring at her with a raised eyebrow. Catra rolled her eyes. “Just call Marcel for a pickup.” She started up the stairs. “It’ll probably be one of the few times you’ll get to ride in a Beemer.”

She strolled easily down the hall to her room, and shut the door behind her. Once no one was watching, she gave a sigh that was a long time coming, and let her head fall back against the door, closing her eyes. With thoughts of competitions, dancing, fights, and disappointments spiraling in fractals, for the first time in years, she wished Adora still had the bedroom across the hall.

As much as she tried to ignore them, her memories were annoyingly clear. She sank to the floor, dropping her backpack to the side as the floodgates opened. They came like flashes of lightning.

The two of them playing pranks on Kyle, giggling hysterically as he fell for the whoopee cushion when they were five, the fake bugs in his room when they were eight, the toothpaste swapped with mayonnaise when they were ten, and the caramel onions when they were eleven.

She and Adora running home after class when they were six, eager to practice their aerials in the hall, using pillows as cushions. Catra beaming with joy when she smugly mastered her aerial weeks before Adora.

Catra whispering in the dark, asking after all the secrets a nine year old might have as Adora held her hand from her sleeping bag on the floor. After bad days in the studio, they always slept in each others rooms.

Adora prancing around the front room in her first pair of pointe shoes, trying all sorts of turns and jumps Zella had forbidden her from even thinking about, while Catra played lookout, silently seething that she wasn’t deemed ready to go on pointe. 

Watching Adora hug Mara and Razz, her new parents. Locking herself in the bathroom, listening to Adora pack everything up and beg her to come out and say goodbye. 

Catra bit back tears. It was like being eleven again, helplessly waiting for someone to save her. But this time, she knew no one was coming. She pulled out her headphones, scrolling through her playlists for anything to carry her away. Her backpack kicked to the corner and her hoodie on her bed, she began to dance. 

The music carried her. She felt like she was going to fall apart, but the music wove around her like silk, holding her up and together. Her arms seemed to rise of their own accord, and she rolled on the floor, mimicking the choreo from class, but adding more of her favorite acro moves. She did some lazy pirouettes, just because it felt right, then kicked her foot straight into the opposite hand for a few turns. 

After dinner, she danced and danced until she couldn’t breathe, collapsing into bed, dreaming of prima ballerinas and pretty blonde girls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> choo choo all aboard the teenage angst bullshit train feat. repressed feelings of all kinds


	3. Chapter 3

“I cannot stress this enough, it is your fault that we’re late.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Glimmer, you’re changing into a sports bra while Adora’s driving.”

“And,” Adora poked the side of Glimmer’s head as she wrestled with her straps, “we had to drive back to your place because you forgot to bring leggings to school today.”

Glimmer grumbled and smacked Adora’s hand away. 

“At this point, you should move your wardrobe to the trunk.” Bow said. “When was the last time we were driving that you weren’t trying to get changed or do homework or finish making ramen?” He raised an eyebrow at Glimmer.

“The ramen thing was one time.” She turned around, ignoring Adora’s protests about seatbelt safety. “And you’re one to talk. You’re rolling out your thighs in the backseat!”

“You’re stressing me out! It’s making my legs tight.”

“Can someone please remind me why we’re friends?” Adora said, smacking Glimmer until she sat back down.

“Because you loooove us?” Glimmer leaned her head onto Adora, fluttering her lashes.

“I love you guys, but I definitely don’t like you right now.”

“That’s very fair.” Bow replied, tossing his tennis ball into his bag.

At long last, Adora pulled into the parking lot. “Alright, move, move, move!” She yelled, all but kicking the door open and running into the building.

The three of them threw their bags in their usual cubbies, shoving their shoes off as fast as possible. They burst into Studio 4. All eyes stared at the teens awkwardly sneaking around in plain sight, including one impressively annoyed Angella.

“Why is when something happens, it’s always you three?” Netossa said in a perfect impression of Professor McGonagoll. 

Giggles passed through the crowd as Adora, Glimmer, and Bow sheepishly joined the group. With a slight frown and pinched eyebrows, Angella stared until the team hushed each other. 

“Thank you. Now that the full team is actually here.” She gave a pointed look at the trio. “I know you are all anxious to hear what dances you’ll be competing this year, and I don’t anticipate we’ll get anything done if I don’t tell you now.” The team erupted in excited whispers, shoving shoulders, and significant glances. 

“So,” Angella said loudly, trying to quiet the group again, “first, music is still being finalized for all your solos, but we know all styles for everyone.” She held up her clipboard. Adora felt Glimmer shifting nervously beside her and grabbed her hand, grinning warmly. “Spinnerella, lyrical, Glimmer, modern acro,” Glimmer’s jaw dropped and she whirled to look at Adora, shaking their hands and bouncing on her toes. “Netossa, hip hop, Perfuma, modern, Adora, lyrical, Mermista, modern slash hip hop, Seahawk, musical theatre, Bow, jazz.” 

Angella paused, letting the group chatter for a moment. She cleared her throat, and loudly flipped to the next page. “Moving on to duets, I have a duet for Netossa and Spinerella, Mermista and Seahawk, and Adora and Bow.” Bow slung an arm around Adora’s shoulders, and the two gave a cheerful whoop, separating when Angella fixed her gaze on them. “I have two trios, one for Adora, Glimmer, and Perfuma, and one for Bow, Seahawk, and Mermista.” She flipped another page. “And finally, I have some exciting news. We have been invited to teach classes at several dance conventions this year, and Glimmer, I’d like you to be my assistant.”

Hushed whispers and excited flaps moved among the group. Angella raised an eyebrow and sighed. “You have thirty seconds to do whatever you must, class starts when the second hand goes back to the 12.”

“Oh my god-”

“Can you believe-”

“I’m so excited.”

“Adora!”

“Bow!”

She ran and jumped at him, wrapping her arms and legs around him as they spun. “Dude, we haven’t had a duet since we competed as juniors!”

“Glimmer! AAAHH! I’m so excited for you!” Perfuma grabbed her hands, spinning them around. “Can’t wait for trio rehearsal!” She called, bouncing over to Mermista.

“Yeah, it’ll be cool.” She gave a weak smile and wrapped her arms around herself, tapping her foot rapidly.

“Ladies and gentleman!” Angella’s voice snapped them all to attention. “That was your time! Let’s go, across the floor!”

*****

The teens were abuzz after class.

“This season is stacked, I’m telling you.” Netossa said, plucking bobby pins out of hair.

“Babe, you missed one.” Spinnerella reached over pulling one from the back of her head.

“Everyone shut up for a sec, check this out.” Seahawk called, proceeding to crack his toes at an ungodly volume. 

Mermista squeezed her water bottle, misting him in the face. “You’re disgusting.”

Adora rolled her eyes, packing her shoes and folding a spare skirt. Her gaze drifted to Glimmer. She hadn’t participated in any of the usual banter and now she was staring at her ballet shoes like they held the answers to the universe. Bow gave her a worried look over Glimmer’s shoulder.

“Hey, Adora!” She turned to Mermista and the rest, who were all finished packing up. “We’re going to Steak n’ Shake. Y’all coming?”

“Yeah, for sure. Go on ahead, we’ll meet you there.”

Mermista raised an eyebrow at Glimmer, nodding with understanding. “Catch you in a bit.”

Gnawing on the inside of her cheek, Adora looked over to Bow. He grimaced, but silently told her to _talk to her._ She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and breathing out slowly. She had to say the right thing, to let Glimmer know that whatever was going on, she could talk to them.

“Hey Glimmer.” She slid over next to her on the floor. “What’s the ‘pointe’ of that?” She said halfheartedly pointing at the shoes.

_Crushed it_, she thought.

“Very funny, Adora.” Glimmer deadpanned, putting them in them in her bag and slouching forwards. When she didn’t say anything else, Adora leaned back to look at Bow, jerking her head at Glimmer. He shrugged, worrying his lip.

“Will you two _stop that?_” 

They both jumped at the outburst. Glimmer slammed her fists by her side, sitting up with eyes darting back and forth between them.

“Don’t act like I don’t know that you’re all but talking about me behind my back.”

Bow leaned forward, peering at Glimmer’s face. “We’re sorry, Glimmer. We don’t mean to be like that, but we don’t know what’s going on with you.”

“Nothing’s going on.” She crossed her arms, gaze fixed on the floor.

“Glim, come on, don’t give us that.” Adora pulled her knees up to her chin, crossing her ankles. “You were down all class.” She gently put a hand on her elbow. “We’re your best friends, we want to help.

A beat of silence.

Glimmer sighed and leaned back. “You’re right. I’m sorry, it’s stupid to take it out on you guys.”

Bow wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay.” 

Adora leaned her head on Glimmer’s shoulder. “Tell us what’s up.”

“I guess I’m just sad. About not having as many dances this year.” She heaved a sigh and curled into a ball. “I thought my mom had more faith in me.”

“Hey now, no bad talking yourself.” Bow said, squeezing her close. “Angella thinks you're amazing! She asked you to be her assistant!” He rested his other hand on her knee. 

“Yeah, she thinks you’re good enough to demonstrate and teach other kids.” Adora added, rubbing Glimmer’s arm soothingly with the thumb. “She sees you killing it with the minis and juniors. They totally love you.” 

“You’re really good. She wants you to represent Bright Moon while she’s right there.” Bow poked her leg, smiling warmly. “You’re like the shining example.”

“Trust us, your mom knows you’re great.” Adora tilted her head back to look up at Glimmer and squeezed her arm.

“Thanks, guys.” Glimmer smiled sadly and wrapped her arms as best she could around her friends. They sat in silence for a moment, Bow hugging her from one side and Adora leaning on her from the other.

“It’s just weird.” Glimmer said. “Not having a trio with you guys.”

Bow and Adora froze. The three of them had had a trio every year since Adora joined Bright Moon when they were eleven. They hadn’t thought about it, caught up in the excitement of everything else. 

“Oh.” Adora said articulately. 

“That is weird.” 

“Yeah.” Glimmer crossed her arms over her knees and slumped her chin on top of them. 

“I guess it was bound to happen sometime.” Adora bit her cheek and frowned.

“I already miss rehearsals with y’all.” Bow reached to wrap his arms around all three of them. “There’s always next year. Plus maybe we’ll get an additional trio in the winter.” He said, ever the optimist.

“And we don’t need no stinkin’ trio to see each other, like, all the time and constantly.” Adora replied, stretching to hug Bow back. 

“You guys are the best, I love you.” Glimmer said in a wobbly voice, knocking her head gently against theirs.

“I love you too, babes.” Bow kissed the side of her head. 

“I love you more.” Adora squeezed them as hard as she could. 

“Don’t make this a competition.” Glimmer shoved her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Adora. Bow rolled his eyes and went to grab his bag. 

Adora laughed and shoved her back. “Sounds like something a loser would say.”

“You can’t call me a loser, I’m a Sagittarius.”

“This has nothing to do with your star sign.” Bow walked back over and tapped Glimmer with his foot. 

“A Virgo would say that.” She swatted his foot and shoved everything in her bag haphazardly.

“Alright, moment’s over, I want a shake.” Adora popped to her feet, slinging her bag over her shoulder and spinning her keys on her finger. “Let’s go. Spencer awaits.”

“Spencer is a 2008 Honda Civic. He can wait.” Glimmer rolled her eyes. “Give me a minute, I can’t find my phone.”

“I think you put in your bra.” Bow said. 

“Don’t disrespect Mr. DeSpencer. He takes us everywhere.”

“Whatever.” Glimmer responded, pulling her phone out of her bra. “Can we listen to Newsies?”

“Finally!” Bow yelled, pumping his fists. “I’ve converted you!” He dramatically pointed at her. 

“I can’t deny, it does kinda slap.” 

“Come on, y’all. Out the door.” Adora gestured grandly, shooing them towards the door. “I need a banana shake.”

“Ew.” 

“Ew yourself.”

“I love you guys.” Bow sighed dreamily.

*****

Sharp clapping pulled Catra out of her daze. It wasn’t like she was thinking hard, more like lazily imagining summer in a field, maybe twirling in the grass, maybe just laying there. There would certainly be a girl there, with a bright smile and blue eyes.

But it was a Saturday, which meant a long rehearsal and another five hours of wishing she could tune out Weaver and just dance, without the inane corrections and underhanded insults. Ah well. Some daydreams were just that.

“Hurry up, get in here, line up, let’s go!” Her acidic voice jolted all the teens, and they jogged into the studio, lining up as they did every week, looking at each other to make sure their feet were all in line.

Weaver glided in as Kyle scrambled into place. She glanced over them, hunting for a misplaced foot or random twitch. Catra was never more tense than the first minute and a half of class, trying to freeze every single muscle in the perfect fifth position with her hands behind her back and praying one of her curls didn’t come loose. Satisfied, Weaver gave a curt nod and went to grab her clipboard from the speaker. 

The collective breath they released could be heard every single time. Weaver slapped the board, and they all looked up, waiting for the next instruction.

“I have here your dances for the upcoming competition year.” Even as they stayed silent and still, Catra could feel the excitement run through the group. “Behave yourselves,” she could feel Weaver’s eyes boring into her, “and I will tell you at the end of the day.” She gave them all a once over and agonizingly slowly placed the clipboard back on the speaker and pressed play.

The first few notes of their warm up began, and everyone raced to their usual places on the barre.

“Five, six, seven, eight, and first!”

Catra did her best to be perfect. She thought about every joint and muscle in her body, pointing her toes, extending her fingers, tucking her hips. She smiled delicately and bit back sighs as she held an arabesque for what felt like forever. Today, she wasn’t going to be the one who ruined it for everyone. 

“Shoulders down, Kyle! Breathe with the music, Entrapta. Smile!”

She knew the warm up like the back of her hand. Tendue, developpe, hold, switch sides. It was easy to drift off, lost in memories of making faces at Adora when they were supposed to be holding their feet high and getting her to giggle and fall off balance.

God, reading that stupid studio list was really fucking with her. Adora was in the past. She was done thinking about her and being hurt by her. Now there was a small chance of seeing her again, and she felt like she was going to throw up. 

Whatever. It didn’t matter. She was good. She knew that. Nothing was going to take that away.

“Catra, watch your lines.”

Nothing didn’t include Weaver. 

She went through the motions, turning and jumping across the floor, repeating the same stupid part of their group dance over and over and over, and fighting the urge to scream that being more “emotional” wasn’t going to make the choreo better.

Painfully, lethargically, the clock finally hit 7:25, and Weaver stopped the music. “Line up!”

They scrambled in line, hoping they weren’t breathing too hard or sweating too much for her discerning tastes. 

“Well done today. You followed my instructions to the letter, and the results are evident.”

Catra swallowed hard. How long was she going to dangle this in front of them?

“I will tell you your dances for the year.”

She could feel the anxious tension roll like a wave across the team. She always wanted to be excited but getting her assignments was waiting for the catch. If she liked the style, the music would suck. If she liked the music, the choreo was weird. It was like Weaver was always waiting for her to fail.

“Solos: Catra, lyrical.”

_Well, that could have gone worse,_ she thought. If she had gotten stuck with another cheesy jazz routine….

“Entrapta, hip hop. Kyle, jazz. Lonnie, lyrical. Rogelio, modern. Scorpia, character jazz. Duets: Catra and Kyle, Lonnie and Scorpia.”

She could feel Kyle look over and purposefully stared straight ahead. _Goddammit._

“Trios: Scorpia, Entrapta, Catra, and Kyle, Rogelio, Lonnie.”

She gave a little side look to Scorpia, who was beaming from ear to ear. _At least someone’s happy._

“If you have a problem with any of these, you can take it up with the studio owner.”

The studio was dead silent. No one wanted to fuck with Hordak. Weaver nodded smugly.

“Dismissed.”

The room decompressed as the teens broke their line and hurried out the door. Catra was right alongside them, when, of course, Weaver interrupted.

“Catra, come here.”

She huffed her anger out through her nose, and willed herself to walk calmly over to her.

“Yes, Weaver?” She gave a tight smile and forced her arms by her sides. Weaver’s eyes bored into her for several moments. Just as Catra was about to lose her patience and demand to know what the hell kind of mind game this was, Weaver folded her hands over her stomach and began to pace.

“I have high expectations for your solo. I always hoped I’d choreograph a winning dance for Adora. Work hard, and you’ll make it worth our time. I’m sure somewhere in you is a superior dancer. Don’t make me regret trusting you to beat her.”

Catra felt like she was going to pass out. 

To the best of her memory, Adora was pretty much perfect. All the jumps and leaps and turns and tricks came so easily to her, it was like she was meant to dance. When Adora danced, it was like everything was right in the world, it was like she was supposed to be there. She was always so graceful and happy and mesmerizing. 

Meanwhile, Catra had no choice but to dance. It was what Weaver taught, so it was what Catra did. She never felt like she belonged; more like she had nowhere else to go. And dance was always there for her, but it never felt easy. It felt like extra hours and classes, it felt like stretching every time she was alone, it felt like breathlessly chasing after Adora, and never catching up.

And Weaver had made it abundantly clear that the two of them were nothing alike. When they first started to get serious, she told all of them what their strengths were. Adora was the best turner and Catra was the most flexible. And that was that. They did what they were good at and very little else. 

So now she had a dance that she was expected to win with, that was designed for Adora. She was totally fucked. There was no way she could beat Adora at her own game.

There was no chance Weaver would listen to her. Her head hurt and she just wanted to run away. She had nothing to say and she had to think of a way to bail, now. 

“Can I get Noodles with Entrapta and Scorpia?” She asked.

Weaver raised an eyebrow, then nodded curtly. “Fine. Be home by eleven.”

With a mumbled thanks, she tucked her head and rushed out the door. 

Of course, Scorpia was waiting, halfway packed and smiling like it was the best day ever. Catra scowled and ripped the hair tie out of her hair. “Hey, hey, hey!” She called. “You feeling good? Feeling pumped for our solos this year?” She shuffled next to Catra, bumping their shoulders together.

“Yeah.” Catra shoved her shoes and skirt roughly into her bag.

“Well, I’m sure you’re going to kill it!” Scorpia rubbed the back of her head and chuckled awkwardly. “Lyrical is, uh, a little not your style,” Catra clenched her jaw and gripped her water bottle, but Scorpia barreled on. “But hey, this is a chance to grow your skill set!” She tried to pat Catra’s back, but it was more like a sad slap.

“Weaver really wants me to beat Adora.” 

“Don’t you want that too?”

Catra stared at Scorpia. She hadn’t considered that winning would even be possible. 

“Yeah.” She was surprised to hear herself say it. _I worked my ass off to be as good as I am now. If I keep pushing, I’ll be better. _“Yeah, I do. And I totally can.”

“Hell yeah, girl.”

“I’m a bad bitch, and I can beat anyone.” She stood up, shouldering her bag. 

“Oh, I am here for this energy. Manifest it, bestie.” Scorpia said, snapping emphatically.

“Fuck yeah, dude. And our trio will be amazing,” Catra pointed at Scorpia and Entrapta, “and we’re gonna kick ass and take names.” Entrapta looked up and clapped once, clearly lost. 

“Hallelujah and amen.” Scorpia raised a hand and stood up. “Now let’s go carb load.” 

“How much pasta do you think I could eat before I die?” Catra asked absently, pulling on a jacket.

“Like lifetime, like how much pasta will you eat before you die? Or like, can you kill yourself via pasta?”

“Oh, I know the answer to both of those actually!” Entrapta piped up.

“I’ve literally never been more excited to hear an Entrapta fact. Please tell me how pasta can and will kill me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao whats up its been a minute but school do be like that
> 
> stay healthy my dudes ill try to actually update now that she ra do be ending


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> important context: adora and bow's duet is called love in the dark, catra's solo is called drink you gone, and adora, glimmer, and perfuma's trio is called blackbirds
> 
> if you wanna see the actual dances that these are based on lmk know in the comments or hmu on tumblr (chronically-ironic) and i'll add them to the notes

The weeks flew by in dance classes and spending hours laughing until her sides hurt in rehearsals with Bow. They tried so hard to be serious every time they met with Angella and worked through their choreo, but it was incredibly difficult when they headbutted for the third time when he was supposed to catch her in a trust fall of sorts.

As Angella paused the music, again, Adora and Bow held their aching heads and failed to stop giggles from escaping every time they looked at each other.

“Dude, when she loves you in the dark, but then you can’t see each other.” Bow could barely get the words out between laughs.

“Stop, I’m gonna pee.” Adora flapped her hand at the tears in her eyes.

“Adora. Bow.”

They looked at Angella’s frown and straightened up. She rubbed her forehead.

“I need you two to take this seriously. Our first competition is in two weeks, and I refuse to put a bad dance on stage.”

Adora bit the inside of her cheek and Bow rubbed his forearms. She certainly didn’t want to do a half-assed duet in front of her last dance partner. This choreography was amazing, showing off the best she had to offer, and if there was even a chance Catra was going to see this, she wanted it to be amazing.

_Why?_ That stupid voice in her head asked. _Why do you want her to see this so badly?_

Maybe she would be amazed by Adora. Maybe she would be intrigued. Maybe she would feel something when Adora danced and tell her and then she would finally know that Catra cared. 

“You’re both talented dancers. You know the choreo and you have great chemistry. Let’s run that section again, watch your heads, and then do it from the top. Fix your problems, you’re smart enough to know what they are.”

She took a slow breath and forced the tension out of her shoulders. Nothing would happen at the competition if she didn’t put in the work now. She could make this dance amazing. She could make it perfect.

“Set back up from the running towards each other and the jump-slash-lift.”

They moved apart and back, facing each other and shaking out their arms.

“Ready?”

Adora and Bow looked into each other’s eyes and they took a deep breath together. 

“Alright.” Angella pressed play and shouted over the music. “Five, six, seven, eight!”

As the chorus began, they twirled loosely and then ran at each other. Bow grabbed Adora’s hips as she jumped, throwing her arms over her head. He brought her down around his waist, and she kicked one leg straight and threw her head back as he dipped her low and swung her around. He lifted her up and she kicked back into an arabesque. He did a pencil turn as she grabbed her head and dropped low. 

_Here goes nothing._ She thought, bending her knees and falling back into his chest. At long last, he caught her without her head knocking into his chin. 

She smiled as he pushed her back to her feet and held onto her wrists. They moved their arms sharply with the music and kicked back a leg. They jumped to the side, she leaned out and he pulled her back, letting her spin quickly under his hand. She fell back, kicking her leg to his head as he dipped her again.

They spun out again and dropped to one knee. They whipped their heads up, making intense eye contact as they slowly rose from the floor. 

Angella paused the music and they popped up.

“Whoo! Hell yeah!” She cheered, pumping her fists in the air.

“That was amazing!” Bow yelled, grabbing her for a hug.

“Don’t start celebrating yet.” Angella said, breaking the two apart with her words. “It looked better but Adora, focus on speed, you need to hit every position right on the beat. Bow, bring your leg in tighter for that turn and try not to look strained. Act like throwing her around is easy.”

They nodded curtly and straightened up. It was nice to get notes from Angella. It felt like she genuinely wanted them to be better, rather than nitpicking petty mistakes.

“We have fifteen minutes before the junior team rehearsal starts. Let’s run this two more times and work the rough sections. You can mark the turns on the second runthrough.”

Adora gave a two finger salute and grinned, “Aye, aye, captain.”

Bow rolled his eyes. “You couldn’t be gayer if you tried.”

“Children.” Angella chided with a smile.

Adora stuck her tongue out at Bow and they half jogged to their starting positions. Angella counted them in, and everything slipped away.

When they had first learned the choreography, Adora couldn’t stop smiling. It was one of the best pieces she’d ever done, and she poured her soul into every movement. As she and Bow chased each other across the floor, pushing and pulling each other through lifts and turns, it wasn’t hard to act like she was running after a love she could never really have. 

She hadn’t seen Catra in years. Hadn’t thought about her in weeks. But now it was all she thought about. How it would feel to see her again. They had always been so competitive when they were little, and they hadn’t exactly parted on a high note, so she could only imagine it was going to go down in flames. 

As Bow reached under her arms and practically threw her over his head, she tried to focus on straightening her legs and whipping them down to hit right with Angella yelling “And a two, and a three!” But she was so torn between ruminating on seeing Catra at the very first competition of the year and trying to make this dance perfect. She knew she was good, but if she got distracted by obsessing over a girl she hadn’t seen in six years, it would ruin it for Bow, and Angella, and everyone at Bright Moon. 

She shook the thoughts out of her head. _Focus,_ she told herself, _do it right for them._ They were coming up on the trust fall part. She poured her everything into pointed toes and rigid legs, into quick movements that ended with her painstakingly rising from the ground and staring into Bow’s eyes.

Her knees were on fire from how slow they had to move at this part. She was sweaty, and her ponytail was all kinds of disastrous, but she would give anything to feel like this all the time. She felt full and alive. When she danced she was strong and powerful, and things like the hearts she’d broken and the people she’d failed didn’t hurt. So she threw herself into quick pirouettes as Bow did a tour jete, putting everything into perfecting her movements.

They came to the last moments of the dance. Bow pushed her over his head and she did an upside down split. She lifted her chest up as he spun around, then cartwheeling down off his back. She spun out with the last beats of the song, looking over her shoulder at him.

The music stopped and they attentively looked to Angella. She raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Very impressive. One more time.”

They finished the second runthrough and the rough patches easily and Angella sent them on their way.

“Oh man, that was so cool!” Bow said, throwing an arm around Adora’s shoulder.

“Gross, you’re so sweaty.” Adora laughed. “But for real, I really feel like we’re gonna do well this year.”

“The Dynamic Duo rises!”

“Bow, I have a confession.” Adora stopped him in the hall. “I think I love you.”

He gasped dramatically and put a hand to his forehead. “But only in the dark.”

They burst out laughing, even though it wasn’t funny to anyone else, or at all. It was unfortunate timing then, that Glimmer walked up to them with Frosta on her heels, chattering away about the cultural importance of anime.

Glimmer stopped awkwardly and waited for them to collect themselves. “Hey, Frosta, go start your warmup and you can tell me more later.” She said, gently pushing her into the studio.

The pair couldn’t stop laughing. Adora was doubled over and Bow leaned against the wall just outside the studio. Glimmer smiled weakly. “Hey guys, what’s up? What’s so funny?”

Bow choked off the last of his giggles and wiped at a tear in his eyes. “Hey, Glimmer. It’s not a good joke, but our dance is called ‘Love in the Dark,’ so like everytime we talk about it, it’s like ‘I love you,’ and then we say, ‘but only in the dark.’”

“Oh. Cool.” Glimmer nodded and shifted her feet.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, it’s stupid.” Adora said. Glimmer pursed her lips and sighed stiffly. 

“Hey, it’s dumb, don’t worry about it.” Adora said quickly. “Wanna meet up after you’re done with the juniors and do some history stuff? We should get ahead for the comp this weekend.”

“Yeah, for sure!” Glimmer perked up.

“I’ll see you at seven? Your place?” Adora called over her shoulder, throwing on a red jacket and gym shoes.

“I can get down and boogie with that.” 

Bow snorted and Adora cocked her head. “I don’t get you young people.”

“You’re truly younger than me, so maybe you just need to get on Twitter.” Glimmer responded, strolling into the studio. “Catch you on the flip, babes!”

Adora rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Bye!”

Bow waved and grinned. “See ya!”

Adora dropped her smile immediately and began putting her things exactly where they belonged in her dance bag. The competition was literally this weekend. As in three days from now. In three days, she would probably, inevitably see Catra. She started gnawing at her cheek. What would she do? What would she say? She jolted when Bow gently put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” he said warmly, “stop thinking so hard. All your dances look really good, you shouldn’t worry.”

She gave him a weak smile. “Yeah, I know. I’m just...I don’t know.”

“Nervous?” 

She nodded.

“That’s totally normal. But you were on fire today!” He sat down next to her. “You didn’t mark anything! I was dying in the second run and you fully sent those pirouettes.”

He hugged her tightly. “Get some rest and be ready to kill it. You’re amazing.”

“Bow, how do you always give such good pep talks?” Adora asked, hugging him back.

“It’s a gift.” He gave her a last squeeze. “I gotta go, my dad is probably blowing up my phone. See you at seven!”

“Bye, Bow.” She looked at her perfectly organized bag as he bounced out the door. Dancing was the easy part. But her relationship with Catra was like a salad of her best memories and lowest moments tossed with love, and anger, and teen angst bullshit. She sighed and nudged her water bottle upright. God, this weekend was going to be rough.

*****

“Catra!”

She forced back a flinch and stopped halfway through a kick. The music came to a screeching halt, and she turned to face Weaver.

“What?” She snarled, crossing her arms.

“You call that a pirouette?” 

“It was fine!”

“It was _subpar._” Weaver hissed, like it was poison in her mouth. 

“Whatever.” Catra gripped her arms and tried to force her breathing to be normal. “I’ll fix it.”

“Will you?” She marched to Catra, bearing over her. “It’s been a long time since you’ve won, and I’m beginning to think you can’t do much without -”

“Stop it! I don’t need anyone, I am perfectly fine on my own!” She clenched her fists and shut her eyes, preparing for the backlash of her outburst.

Weaver grabbed her chin. “Then prove it. Do it again, and do it _right,_ like I’ve taught you. You compete this weekend.”

“I _know._” She glared at her and jerked her head out of her clawlike grasp. She hunched her shoulders and stalked back to her starting position. “Just put the music on, I’ll do it right this time.”

She hated dancing. Not really, but Weaver was somehow magically sucking everything good about dance out. But what else was she supposed to do? Solos and competitions and rehearsals were all she knew. She was nothing if she wasn’t dancing. 

It didn’t start too bad. She lunged to the side, elongating her arms.

“Shoulders down!”

She huffed but kept going. She spun around, putting her hands under her chin and rolling over her toes to the floor. She swung her legs around in front, collapsing her chest. From there she rolled on her back, then launched into a cartwheel through a chinstand. It was her favorite part and it happened ten seconds in. So it was pretty much all downhill from here.

It was impossible not to think about Adora when she did this dance. Even if Weaver hadn’t told her, Adora’s specialties, skills, and spirit were in every part of it. The tight, controlled turns that blew judges away every time. The flowing, smooth movements that carried everything from one beat to another, like it was an organic thing that came naturally. It was so very Adora, and so very not Catra.

She came to the first set of turns. Bracing to be cut off, she nearly kicked herself in the face with a fan kick and perfectly poised arm, then jumped into the pencil turns. She felt Weaver’s eyes boring into her, but the music didn’t stop. She rolled to the ground, then rose to her feet. Flinging an arm over her head, she dropped backwards, trusting herself to arch all the way to the floor and sliding until she was laying down. At least she knew Weaver would never yell at her for the back bend slide. It was a trust fall with herself, and she always got it right.

Catra had to match her movements to the lyrics, and it made her feel that much worse. They pounded into her skull insisting that you can’t drink, smoke, or eat away the people you love, even when they left you. Even when you lived in their shadow, even when you got used to the shade, even when they chose to leave you to burn in the sun.

She brought her hands to her head, then threw them down as the chorus came to an end, grabbing her own wrist and turning on a dime. She whipped her hands to her chest with the words.

_Tell me how do broken hearts get strong?_

_Good fucking question._ She thought bitterly. 

Forcing her way through the rest of the dance, she lunged forwards with her hand behind her head, then stood upright and threw the arm behind her with the last beat of the music. She turned to face Weaver, crossing her arms and jutting her hip out. Even though all she wanted to do was heave and huff, she didn’t want to hear more about how she didn’t work hard enough when they were conditioning.

Weaver shrugged. “It was better.”

Catra straightened up. “Really?”

“Yes.” Catra tracked her as she put her fingertips together, strolling in front of the studio mirror. “It still needs work, but I guess it will do for this weekend. You really must improve your turns, you never look in control. When you’re doing the flowing motions, you look stiff and awkward. This is a modern dance, not hip hop.” 

Catra clenched her teeth and squeezed her arms. _So pretty much the whole dance looked stiff and awkward. Awesome. _

“But your kicks looked nice and your facials were incredibly real.” She continued, gesturing absently in Catra’s direction. Then she was unplugging her phone and hurrying out the door. “I have to go. You should probably stay here and run it a few more times if you want it to look good this weekend.” With that, she was gone and Catra was alone.

She didn’t want to run it again. She hated how it made her feel, like she was reliving all the worst parts about loving Adora, like she had lost before she even started. Clenching her fists, she forced herself to look up at the twiggy, frizzy haired girl in the mirror. That girl was a fighter. She fought, and clawed, and worked for everything she had. Every skill, every win, every ounce of respect, came from her relentlessness. Even when the odds were stacked, she didn’t give up. Catra straightened up and glared at her reflection. If she was going down, she was going down swinging.

She marched over to her bag and rifled through it for her phone. Pulling it out, she stormed back to the speaker and shoved the AUX in.

Shaking out her limbs, she rushed to start with the music. This dance wasn’t fair, but nothing was for Catra. So she put everything she had into this runthrough, kicking higher than ever, tensing every muscle in her body to make the perfect lines, and pushing harder, harder. 

She viciously shoved every thought of Adora from her head. This was her dance, not Adora’s. And it didn’t matter if she saw her this weekend, she didn’t care. She had worked hard to put any feelings behind a wall, and she wasn’t going to let herself be weak again. 

By the time she finally reached the end of the song, she couldn’t breathe and she was on the verge of tears. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to straighten up and put her hands behind her head. As the tears welled up and she felt the impending breakdown, she walked around the room in the heavy silence left behind. 

Catra allowed herself one choked off sob, before wiping the rest of the wetness away. Taking a fortifying breath, she grabbed her phone and roughly shoved it in her bag. She pulled on her Horde Dance Company team jacket and threw her bag over her shoulder. Without looking back, she turned off the light and left the studio. This weekend had better be good.

*****

It was way too early on a Saturday to be driving to a convention center in the middle of nowhere, but such was the life of a competitive dancer.

Lonnie had thankfully insisted that they stop for coffee on the way, but she still felt like death. She had been up late working on her pirouettes in her room, until Weaver had pounded on the wall and told her to stop making so much noise.

Now she was trying to do eyeliner in a moving car on a squirming boy.

“Kyle. Stop fucking blinking.”

“Language.” Weaver called from the driver’s seat. Catra rolled her eyes.

“I can’t help it! It feels weird.”

“How long have you been dancing? And this is your, like, upper liner. All you have to do is keep your eyes closed!” She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him closer.

“Rogelio, pass me a bobby pin.” Lonnie said, wrestling her hair into a bun in the passenger side mirror.

As he was passing her the pin, the car jerked to a stop. Catra fell forward and fully shoved the pencil in Kyle’s nose.

“Ow!”

“Oh, suck it up.” She snarled, capping the pen and grabbing her iced coffee.

Weaver whipped around and glared at the teens in the van. “Heads up, look alive. Walk in there like professionals. Look good and make me proud.”

Catra sighed and sipped her coffee, but nodded along with the others.

“Good. Get organized now and follow me.” She immediately got out of the car and began power walking to the building, leaving the teens scrambling to collect their costumes and makeup behind her. 

Catra shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and easily caught up to Weaver first. They came to a stop at the door, waiting for the others to catch up. With a jolt, she noticed Weaver staring at her.

“Don’t disappoint me today.”

“I won’t.” She said, pointedly looking at the parking lot. Nothing, including blondes, ex best friends, or grating foster moms, was going to shake her today.

*****

Adora usually hated waiting around in their room during competitions, but she was about to cry laughing watching Glimmer tiredly entertain Frosta.

“Glimmer! It’s not that hard! It’s snap, dab, then swing! Come on, you have to do it right for Tik Tok.”

Glimmer looked like she was ready to drop dead. Looking over to Adora, she gave her the most dead-eyed, exhausted look that screamed that she was about to lose her mind. Adora just laughed hysterically, watching as Frosta very seriously recorded them doing the Renegade dance for the third time. 

Adora wiped away her tears and turned to her mirror. She bit her lip, trying to spray down another stupid flyaway. She was never much good at the hair and makeup part of dance, but Perfuma had already put her hair in the tight bun at the base of her neck and Glimmer had fixed her eyeliner immediately upon arrival. 

She smiled softly at her reflection. She was so lucky to have friends like that. 

“Frosta, I promise I will do more later, but my trio is up in twenty. I have to finish getting ready.”

“But-”

“No buts. I’ll be back.”

Adora tried to hold back a smile as Glimmer collapsed on the floor next to her.

“I love my children, but boy, I will kill them.”

She laughed and started smearing eyeliner down her cheeks. Their trio was fun and dark, but it involved a ridiculous amount of makeup running down their faces. “Are you finally gonna get Tik Tok clout?”

Glimmer groaned and dragged herself to sitting. “What else do I live for?” She grabbed one of their large, nestlike headpieces and began pinning it to her head. “God, these things are so much. And why do we have to go on so early? It's like, 8 a.m."

“Early bird and all that?”

“Ha ha, very funny, Adora.” Glimmer continued shoving pin after pin into the nest. “Your dance related puns are always so humorous.”

“I think they’re nice!” Perfuma announced, bouncing up to the girls. “You guys ready?”

“I think so.” Adora said, pushing another bobby pin into her own headpiece. “How do I look?”

Glimmer snorted. “Like your husband just killed you and you rose from the dead. Which I think is what we’re going for.”

Perfuma clapped her hands excitedly. “Amazing!” 

Adora popped to her feet and offered a hang to Glimmer. “Let’s get out of here. I’d honestly rather wait in the hall.”

“For real.” Glimmer agreed, taking her hand. “If I get roped into another Tik Tok or have to listen to Seahawk wax poetic about Mermista again.”

Perfuma grabbed Adora’s other hand and began leading them out. “Alright then, ladies! Positive vibes only!”

They cheered and walked chattering into the hallway.

*****

Catra usually hated waiting around in their room during competitions, and today was doing nothing to change that opinion. 

Weaver was laying into Kyle as they warmed up some stupid section of their duet, Lonnie was yelling about how she just burned herself on a stray curling iron, Rogelio was somehow snoring, and her hair was just not staying straight.

“So, he tells me the lower one is the gas, and it turns out to be water and I totally send water through the Bunsen burner!” Scorpia laughed, recounting a disastrous biology class. “Mr. Whip was not happy with that, heh.”

Catra sprayed another goddamn flyaway and took a deep breath. It was at moments like this that she had to remind herself of the consequences of homicide. 

“You excited for our trio? It’s gonna be so fun to finally perform it, in front of, you know, a real audience.”

“Yup. It’ll be great.” She tightened her ponytail and sighed at her mirror. She looked shellacked.

“Catra!” They both jumped when Weaver screeched. Your solo -”

“Is in like twenty minutes, I know. I’m going.” She shoved back from the table, and all but sprinting away before anyone could call her back. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the hallway, fully intending to just walk backstage and do some last minute stretches.

Then she saw _her._

It was like time was moving in slow motion. People passed by with hairspray and costumes, dancers raced to get to the stage, coaches chased down girls who had lost their hair pieces. But she was frozen, staring at Adora.

She was smiling, talking with a short purple-haired girl and a lanky blonde girl. They were all in white leotards with skirts around the back, with blackbird hairpieces and dark mascara on their cheeks. She blended with them perfectly, leaning back on her hip and gesturing lazily with her hand as they shot the breeze.

_Oh wow, I would kill to feel those arms._

When did she get so tall? When did she get so beautiful?

And then she turned and looked at Catra.

*****

“Hey, Adora, do you know that girl? She’s been staring for a bit.”

Adora glanced over her shoulder where Perfuma was pointing and froze.

Standing right there, still kinda short, still wide eyed, was Catra. In a low cut maroon dress with a choker. _A choker._

_God, I’m so gay, _Adora thought, feeling like her jaw hit the floor.

Her eyes were the size of saucers, bright blue and warm hazel, and her face was now sharp and defined. Even just standing there, barefoot and baffled, with her hair weirdly slicked back into a ponytail, Adora could very clearly remember why she had a crush on her. 

They made eye contact.

*****

_Oh my god, I’m gonna vomit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so season 5 huh
> 
> catra and adora finally interacting!! now the fun begins!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i GOTTA highlight the amazing dancers and choreographers whose dances i describe so pls check out these videos i am fully obsessed
> 
> bow and adora's duet: https://youtu.be/aeijJf-zjzY  
adora, glimmer, and perfuma's trio: https://youtu.be/H5Vgfn928XE  
catra's solo: https://youtu.be/eqVmQpw1yTw
> 
> and if u see any terms to describe a dance and dont know what it is, if you look up the term, it'll show up. examples for this chapter are developpe, fourth position, attitude, etc.

Adora opened and closed her mouth like a fish, reached a hand towards Catra, then watched as she covered her mouth and sprinted away. 

So that was what she had been building up to. Ten seconds of eye contact, no talking, and Catra turning away from her again. She wanted to go after her, but what could she say? Nothing could undo the last six years. Glimmer bumped her hip and stepped in front of her, but she couldn’t find the will to move.

“So, uh, what was that?” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Adora’s hand was still hovering in the air, grasping after a long gone girl.

“Hey, Adora, are you okay?” She was jolted back to reality when Glimmer put a gentle hand on her shoulder and Perfuma brushed her elbow. Their faces crumpled with concern, and it felt like a blazing sunbeam had just landed on her. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” She dropped her arm and grabbed her elbows. “Just an old friend.” 

“Are you sure? We still have some time if you need a minute.” Glimmer rubbed her shoulder soothingly.

“No. I’m fine.” She shrugged their hands off and smoothed over her hair. “Let’s go.”

Squaring her shoulders, she held her chin high and marched to the stage, Glimmer and Perfuma trailing behind. It didn’t matter how she felt, she had a job to do and a dance to perform. 

_Catra was in the hall. That means she’s performing soon._ That means she’ll see you. The little voice in her head taunted.

She shook her head and bit her cheek, trying to ignore that oh-so-helpful realization. There was no way she would be able to focus on spacing and counts when she knew Catra would be watching her every move. It used to be comforting, knowing she always had someone in her corner, who would always tell her that she would win and make her smile when she didn’t. Now, she was another stranger in the crowd, looking for everything Adora couldn’t do right, with the added bonus of knowing her so well that Catra would pick out her flaws before the music started.

And of course, _of course_, Catra would be there for the trio. The dance where if she messed up, she would be letting down her best friend and the nicest person on the team. She hunched her shoulders and powered towards the stage. Duets and trios were nice, but when she did a solo the only person she could fail was herself, and she already knew how to deal with that. 

Maybe they could talk before she went on. Just a few words, to clear the air and at least say they weren’t enemies, even though they certainly weren’t friends. 

Picking up her pace, she practically threw open the stage door, and whipped her head around, wildly searching for a skinny girl with mismatched eyes. 

“Hey, if you’re not number 26, you need to move back and quiet down.” A stage manager said, trying to guide her away from the curtains.

Adora waved her off distractedly. “You don’t understand, I need to -”

“Adora!” Glimmer whisper-shouted, appearing out of nowhere and pulling her away to a darkened corner. Perfuma pushed her from the other side, smiling apologetically at the frowning stage manager.

Even as she was being shoved away, she leaned around the other two girls, desperately searching for a familiar face. _Where is she?_ Adora thought. _She has to be back here._

Once again, Glimmer brought her back to reality, this time by flicking her forehead. “Hey ding-dong, what is up with you today? You had a staring contest with a stranger, pretty much ran here, and ignored a stage manager. You know they’re making this happen and they can _disqualify_ us.”

“I have to find…” She trailed off, realizing that Catra definitely was not there. With all the girls with low ponytails and flowy dresses, Catra was not among them. 

“Find what?” Perfuma asked, gently holding Adora’s arm.

“I…” She blinked, finally looking at the girls by her sides. Glimmer had her hands on her hips, but she was searching Adora’s face with worry. Perfuma squeezed her forearm gently, silently probing for an answer.

“I don’t know. I thought I might be able to talk to Catra before we went on.”

Glimmer’s eyebrows shot up. “Catra? Like, old friend you were dreading seeing Catra?”

Adora looked at her feet instead of responding. Glimmer sighed and pulled her in for a hug, which Perfuma promptly joined from her other side. She felt her eyes bulge and she stiffened at first.

“Adora, you know you can tell us when things are bad or weird. We’re not gonna judge you, and we’ll be behind you one thousand percent, whether it’s an old friend or an asshole judge.”

At those words, she practically melted in their embrace, wrapping her arms around them. Her friends were so open and kind, but Catra still felt like a secret she had to protect.

“We’re here to help, but we can’t do that if we don’t know you’re hurting.” Glimmer said, tightening her grip.

Adora gave a shaky sigh and squeezed them both back. “I know. It’s just hard to talk about sometimes. Especially when we have to focus on getting onstage.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll put our best energy out there no matter what. You just need to let go of the negativity for a few minutes.” Perfuma responded.

After another tight squeeze, she stepped back, holding their hands. “Thanks, guys.” 

“Speaking of getting out there, I think we’re up soon.” Glimmer said, shaking their hands excitedly. “Everyone feeling better?”

Adora beamed. “Let’s do this.”

They let go of each other, then brought their hands together like a school yard game in beat with their good luck chant. “Good, clean, safe dance, go Bright Moon!” They bumped their hips together in the center of their little triangle and twirled out. Coming together for a quick hug, they lined up in the wings. As the announcer called for number 29, Adora pushed Catra out of her head. When the stage lights hit her face, she knew dancing was more important than anything. Taking her place behind Glimmer and Perfuma, she delicately curved an arm over her head. With a calming breath, she let the music take over.

*****

Clutching the edges of the sink, Catra tried to steady her breathing and force down the nervous bile clawing at her throat. She forced herself to focus on the water rhythmically dripping from her face to the tile, and took deep, albeit shaky breaths.

This was not happening. She was not going to have a panic attack, or anxiety attack, or whatever, just because she saw Adora. Not ten minutes before her solo. But the waves of emotion kept beating against her and her skin felt like it was on fire. 

_You probably look like a mess. You’ll lose points for that, _a nagging voice reminded her. Swallowing hard, she made herself straighten her spine and willed any tears to retreat. She didn’t have the time to curl up and hold herself until she felt better. Her chance to prove herself was fast approaching, and no one else was going to save her. 

Catra finally looked up at the mirror, noticing how in her rush to avoid a public breakdown, some more hairs had come loose and her eyeliner was starting to smear. At least no one saw you.

Pushing herself upright, she began to primp herself, dabbing at the water she had splashed on her face, smudging makeup away with her fingers and tucking her hair back into her ponytail. She straightened her costume, trying to pull the dress tighter so it actually fit her frame. Catra stared at herself again in the mirror. She lifted her chin and fixed her posture to ballet perfection. The dress was still swimming around her and her collarbones were jutting out. She looked elegant. She looked breakable. 

Plastering a demure look on her face, she strolled out of the bathroom. She knew better than to show any sort of attitude backstage, it would only cost her in the judges’ eyes. Gently pulling the stage door open, she slipped into the darkness just in time to catch the last bit of Adora’s trio.

She knew she should be doing last minute pirouettes and crunches to make her waist look smaller, but she couldn’t help peering through the curtains. Catra remembered sneaking into the audience to watch her dance. She remembered how her heart skipped when Adora caught her eye and grinned, how she melted a little when she extended her limbs and flowed with the music. 

Adora was facing the back wall, doing the perfect developpe and then dramatically arching back with and bending her raised leg. Catra sneered. _Of course she’s still front and center._ Adora leapt forward and threw her arm in a circle, and the two girls behind her followed in a wave. When the beat hit, they whipped around to face the back and stomped their left foot. Then their arms were floating out and they were elegantly turning with a leg point at the ceiling. All perfectly in sync, as usual for Adora. 

Even when the purple haired girl was dramatically flung to the center and did a very impressive split over her back with her hands on the ground, Catra was mesmerized by Adora. Walking with the music with her head held high, she was the picture of a dancer. 

Catra slinked back into the shadows. She needed to do a quick review of her turn sequences, and she knew she was up soon.

She heard the announcer calling their exit, watching out of the corner of her eye as they turned from angsty performers into happy teens who squealed quietly and hugged each other as soon as they were out of sight.

“You guys, that was so good!”

“The vibes, the energy, oh my gosh, the allspice and raspberry cookies totally worked!”

“I literally feel like I’m on fire.”

Catra huffed and pulled her foot over her head. However good Adora did, she could do better. She didn’t need good vibes to win. Shaking her arms out, she walked over to the stage manager and softly asked when she was due to perform. She said something into her headset and gestured towards one of the gaps between the curtains.

Next to where Adora was still standing with her new friends. Did she _do_ something to the universe? 

She took a deep breath as the announcer called for her over the mic. “Judges, up next is a senior lyrical solo, from Horde Studios,” she felt someone suddenly stare and pointedly did not look at Adora as she walked on stage with practised confidence, “performing ‘Drink You Gone,’ please welcome Catra!”

*****

“...a senior lyrical solo, from Horde Studios…” Adora’s head whipped up, landing on Catra, standing ten feet away and already walking onstage before she could react.

She stared dumbfounded at the empty space. She was _right there,_ and she missed her again. They always did this when they were kids, dancing around each other and never quite saying what was going on. Granted, they had barely hit double digits, but speaking in codes and avoiding their feelings was always part of the deal when Weaver was around.

Glimmer pulled on her arm. “That was her, wasn’t it?”

She nodded dumbly. “I missed her.”

“Let’s go watch her! Then you’ll have something to say when you see her again, instead of staring like a weirdo.” She poked Adora’s cheek with a smile and started to drag her by the wrist. Her mind finally caught up to the rest of her body and she sprinted ahead, pulling Glimmer and Perfuma along into the audience.

The dance had already started when they slid into the back rows, and Adora couldn’t take her eyes off her. When they were kids, she used to hide backstage and watch Catra’s solos. Whenever their eyes met, she would give her an encouraging smile, silently telling her that she was fantastic. She remembered all too well how her breath would catch when Catra matched a beat particularly well, or showed off her mind boggling flexibility.

Catra was holding her hands to her chest, letting them flow over her head and between her legs as one lifted up with a bent knee. She splayed her arms out and slid one hand down the other arm as she spun, then flung her arms through a sort of fourth position as she did an elegant turn with her back leg in an attitude. Whipping the leg forward, she did a quick tight turn, then ran immediately into a turning switch leap. She looked shaky on the turns, and she wasn’t getting as high as she could in the leap. 

“Wow. She’s flexible.” Perfuma commented by her side.

“Yeah, but she’s barely doing anything with it.” Glimmer responded. 

She was right. This next section was all quick, precise moves that connected smoothly and flowed perfectly with the lyrics, but it featured none of Catra’s breathtaking chinstands and whip fast splits. 

“She looks miserable.” Adora crossed her arms over the chair in front of her.

“Well, yeah.” Glimmer said, leaning forwards with her. “It’s like, a breakup dance.”

“No.” She watched as Catra twirled center stage, flexing her hands to the floor and running in place. “She looks like she doesn’t want to be dancing.”

They fell into silence as Catra spun around again, kicking her leg straight to her face. After a few more beats, Glimmer piped up.

“Hey, Adora, it kinda looks like your solo.”

With a start, Adora suddenly saw it. The sinuous steps that relied on an extensive obsession with ballet, the incredibly precise turns, even the music, it was all the kind of thing that she loved to do. 

_That’s so unfair._ Catra deserved a dance that she could win with, not some weird copy of someone else’s solo. 

She frowned and rested her cheek on her arms. It ruined it a bit to think this dance might have been meant for her, but she could still admire Catra. Her strong legs, her litheness. Both of those things left Adora daydreaming about the other ways those traits could be put to use. 

The music seemed to read her mind. _I can’t eat away the way that you ate me out._

Her head popped upright. “Did the music just say ‘the way that you ate me out’?”

“‘The way that you ate my heart out.’” Glimmer patted her arm. “It’s okay, I already know you’re a dumb lesbian, and I love you for it.”

Adora stuck her tongue out and Perfuma snickered. 

She sighed dreamily, flopping her chin into her palm. The dance was coming to a close, and Adora wasn’t ready to watch her leave. 

_How do broken hearts go on?_

With the last word, Catra faced the back wall and threw her arm out behind her. Adora turned the words over in her head as Catra turned to face the judges, bowed quickly, practically ran offstage. How did she go on without her best friend? Did she really forget her until this exact moment?

Those were questions she’d rather not think about, so she put them in the box of feelings she had about Catra, and mentally shelved it with all the other things she didn’t want to talk about. Perfuma’s gentle hand on her arm brought her back from her musings.

“I think we need to go and get ready for our solos.”

Glimmer bumped their shoulders together. “You need a minute? Or wanna talk about it?” She interlaced their fingers, offering a comforting squeeze.

Adora shook her head and stared at their hands in her lap. How long had it been since she’d given the same squeeze to Catra, the one that said ‘I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere?’

“Nah, I’ll be fine.” She gave Glimmer a quick squeeze back and stood up. “We have a comp to win, don’t we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> isn't pain fun
> 
> but if you're into this fic, you should be sure to check out my QUEEN celcel's fic stay alive, then we'll talk, i have the honor of beta reading and it's wonderful. plus she did some baller art for this chapter on tumblr that you can find here: https://insistings.tumblr.com/post/620058523135606784/lil-art-thing-for-my-favorite-person-in-the-world
> 
> more importantly, fanfic is a nice escape from the real world, but it's necessary to pay attention. there's a real and constant threat on black lives, and even if you can't go out and protest, you can sign petitions and donate money to support the cause. this article is a good place to start: www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/george-floyd-protests-bail-funds-police-brutality-black-lives-matter-1008259/
> 
> stay safe, and keep speaking out

**Author's Note:**

> yeehaw yall hope you enjoy some Dramatic Ass Dancers. more to come


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